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Letter #3135

Ioannes DANTISCUS to Bona Sforza
Heilsberg (Lidzbark), 1543-04-05

English register:

The news of the death of the king of Scotland [James V Stewart], which Dantiscus had conveyed in his earlier letter of 1 April, has now been confirmed. The Scottish nobles, whom the king of England [Henry VIII] had released and given generous gifts before sending them back to Scotland, were captured after the siege of a certain castle. They were declared traitors and sent back by the primate [David Beaton] and his supporters. If this account is accurate, the king of England will be disappointed. There are also reports that the king of England has sent a fleet of 100 armed ships to Spain, and the emperor [Charles V of Habsburg], having added 200 of his own, is preparing to depart for Belgium. Also, the king of England has declared war on France.

The conflict between the Habsburgs and the Duke of Guelders [Wilhelm V der Reiche] has not been resolved, and when summer comes it is likely to cause considerable turmoil. As for the Swedish tyrant [Gustav I Vasa], the same reports persists, namely that he is recruiting soldiers. The Hamburgers, who possess a large fleet, have recovered a significant number of ships from the Habsburgs through negotiations. They have joined the Habsburgs, abandoning the Danes, and now sail to England and to their usual ports.

Dantiscus will be most grateful for a reply, especially to what he has written with his still ailing hand on the sheet enclosed with the letter.




Manuscript sources:
1copy in Latin, 16th-century, BJ, 6557, f. 396r-v
2copy in Latin, 18th-century, BCz, 60 (TN), No. 11, p. 35-36
3copy in Latin, 18th-century, BCz, 274, No. 251, p. 501

Auxiliary sources:
1register in Polish, 20th-century, B. PAU-PAN, 8250 (TK 12), f. 28

 

Text & apparatus & commentary Plain text Text & commentary Text & apparatus

 

Ioannes Dantiscus Episcopus Varmiensis Bonae Reginae Poloniae

Serenissima Reginalis Maiestas et Domina, domina clementissima. Humillimam servitiorum et orationum mearum commendationem.

Post eas, quas prima huius ad Serenissimam Maiestatem Vestram dedi, hoc quod prius de occiso Scotiae rege scripsi, constans fama confirmavit addens insuper, quod principes illi viri Scoti, quos rex Angliae captivos habuit et largiter donatos a se in Scotiam dimiserat, ab archiepiscopo et primate illius regni eiusque partes sequentibus in quodam Scotiae castro obsessi proditoresque ac desertores regis sui declarati atque iterum rapti, in Angliam sunt remisi. Quae res si sic habet, ut certo fertur, regem Angliae spes sua destituet. Scribitur etiam, quod rex ille armatas naves centum in Hispaniam misit, quibus caesar suis navibus ducentis coniunctus ex Hispania ad Belgas inferioris Germaniae profecturus perhibetur, quodque a rege Angliae Gallis publicum indictum sit bellum, unde orbis Christianus novas habiturus est turbas.

Inter domum Burgundiae et Geldriensem dissidium componi non potuit, quod hac aestate instante non parvam rerum perturbationem pariet. De Sueciae tyranno, quod prius: nempe milites eum conscribere adhuc rumor est non raucus. Hamburgenses, qui numerosas educere possunt naves, quarum non paucas a Burgundionibus per pacta ac foedera recuperarunt, illis iuncti relictis Danis in Angliam et in portus solitos navigationem struunt.

Haec sunt, quae de novis parens Serenissimae Maiestatis Vestrae iussis cum hoc nuntio scribenda se offerunt, cum quo mihi inter eundum occursuro. Si Serenissima Maiestas Vestra rescribi commiserit (quod summopere peto), ad ea praesertim, quae adhuc affecta manu in scheda exaravi, gratissimam mihi gratiam impartiet Serenissima Maiestas Vestra. Cui me suppliciter commendo atque omnia faustissima in aetate diutissime florente a domino deo intime precor.

Ex Heilsberg, quinta Aprilis MDXLIII.